Yes! No! But Wait...!: The One Thing You Need to Know To Write a Novel

by Tim Lott

Yes! No! But Wait…! is the most straightforward book on writing a novel ever published.

It is also the most practical, honest and useful.

Tim Lott admits he can't teach someone how to write a novel (that's one of the myths propagated by the novel-writing industry).

But he can help anyone construct a solid platform on which they can stand to discover whether they have the talent, will and imagination required of any novelist.

A distillation of a lifetime's reading, writing and thinking about stories and how to tell them, Yes! No! But Wait…! is the one book any aspiring author needs.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 15, 2023

About the author

Tim Lott is the author of seven novels and a memoir, The Scent of Dried Roses, which won the PEN/J.R. Ackerley Prize. White City Blue won the Whitbread First Novel Award and his young adult book Fearless was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Book Award. Tim lives with his family in north-west London.

Reviews

[Shirley Ferris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this on a recommendation and can see the book's merits. I particularly like the bit where he declares the market is flooded with writing courses, and none of them can tell you how to write a novel. It's an industry made for profit and certainly not aimed at helping those who want to write a book. He uses many quotes from other people's books on storytelling, and I found that a bit hard to get through. I wanted to hear his thoughts. But it's clearly written, and he makes several good points. There was no winning formula or revelatory moment in this, but it's worth a read. At least Tim has made me feel that I can write - if I give it the time and put in the work, oh and focus on plot and character.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic distillation of the essential components of the art of storytelling. Mr Lott’s belief that you cannot teach someone to write a novel has compelled him to simplify his years of experience and breadth of knowledge on the craft of writing a novel down to its barest elements - plot and character, though his explanations of these elements are not simplistic or superficial. I appreciated that this is a book on writing that incorporates many modern references (rather than the de facto list of dusty old classics in many writing books) and acknowledges unconventionally structured plots, unpacking the particular reasons they succeeded in deviating from the rules. The incident he described from his own life and the ways in which it could be tweaked, accentuated and structured differently to create a complete and dramaturgically satisfying plot, was very illuminating! The one point I disagreed with was his belief that main characters need not be likeable, though I have abandoned many commercially successful novels for finding the protagonist unremarkable, so I put this down to a difference of opinion. Anyway, I will definitely return to this book, it was so insightful.

[Paige Costinescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book insightful, and it refreshed me on some important points.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Common sense overview of writing advice with lots of good general tips. I like that it eschews prescriptiveness and instead tries to galvanise the writer into figuring things out on the job.